Gods of Esova
Overview Throughout most of the history of Esova and it's inhabitants, the belief in the fourteen gods has been a long standing tradition ingrained in most people's lives. While some believe in other idols or belief systems, they are much less common. Each god of Esova, at one point or another in time, has lived on the planet as a mortal without knowing of their divine nature and powers. However, no god has ever lived during the same period as another. Kora and Meladora have the closest gap between any two, with it being roughly five thousand years. The coming of each god marked a milestone in the history of Esova, with each one adding something fundamental to the society of it's inhabitants. The Ten Gods Marronash Born in the early days of civilization itself, Marronash is the oldest of the fourteen gods. His exact date of birth is unknown, but is estimated to be a few years before the start of recorded history, around 3,000,000 BNE (Before New Era) somewhere in the Western region of present day Alskoma. Son of a fisherman and a stay at home mother, Marronash and his family were quite poor. Growing up he had a very basic education involving standard arithmetic and some reading and writing. When he was twelve, he began joining his father when he would go fish, allowing them to bring home a larger quantity of food. His mother often spoke to other housewives at how surprised she was at how patient her son was, being able to sit all day in a quiet boat when most other children of his age were anxious to play with others. Over time, his father was able to sell his catchings and start a small business, allowing the family to ascend out of poverty into a better standard of living. After a couple of years of working towards financial stability, his parents had another child. His brother, named Marc, was just not interested in fishing or helping his father, and often preferred other activities that he thought were more enjoyable. When he was just past the age of 23, a plague began to sweep the region that Marronash and his family resided in. Almost his entire village became infected with what the people called "the rot", including his parents and his brother. After a week of suffering through the plague, his family passed away. With nobody left and at such a young age, Marronash felt lost. He attempted to cope with what happened and continued his fathers business for three years before giving it to another employee and stepping away from the business. He sold his childhood home as well, and used the money to travel to the sun temple in the North-Central region of Alskoma, where he planned to study in order to become a monk. Once at the temple, the monks introduced him to the teachings and meditations of Y'aron, who they believed created the sun and sky. The monks taught that through meditation and patience, one could transcend their worldly bodies and become one with Y'aron in his own plane. Marronash loved to meditate, and thought that it was key to living a happier life and accepting the hardships that have happened. After ten years at the temple, he was able to fully accept and move past the loss of his family, and continue with his life peacefully at the temple. On his 70th birthday, Marronash was donned with the title of Grand Master, the highest title possible in the temple. Even as he continued to grow older, he oddly felt completely fine, as if he was still in his twenties. He spent the rest of his days teaching visitors and younger monks about his life and how he believed time itself is a slow, but definite healer of wounds. On the night of his 92nd birthday, Marronash passed away in his sleep. At the time of his death, Marronash was seen more as a prophet than a monk. Many of his followers knew that he himself didn't truly believe in Y'aron, and often deviated his teachings away from that set of beliefs. His teachings spread through word of mouth and print, and just after a couple of years, the first prayers were said to him. Nowadays, Marronash is labeled as the "God of Time", and is associated with patience, self discipline, and forgiveness. Labrok In the aftermath of the worst known plague to hit humanity, Labrok was born during a period known as the "Restoration Era" in the lower region of Central Alskoma. After the rot devastated most of Alskoma and parts of other countries in Kralia, civilization struggled to maintain stability and peace. Crime was high, as many people were reduced to looting and other crimes due to starvation and poverty. Over time, some extremist militant factions began to appear and take control of different regions, demanding food and other supplies from villages and towns in the area with threat of violence. While the struggling governments were able to subdue them through what remained of their own military, remnants of the factions still survived and migrated elsewhere. With his parents both teaching at the country's only university, his family was quite wealthier in comparison to those who held other professions at the time. Alon Hermen Topeth Gob Kora Meladora Takon Aron Heralds of the Ten Gods Each god has a variety of lesser demigods under them with the title of "Herald". Heralds represent and preach a more specific message or quality about the god they worship, as opposed to preaching about everything the god may have taught or stood for. Like the gods, many heralds were born on Esova without the knowledge of their true abilities. Despite this, many heralds were also granted the title through the gods themselves when they were seen as a true and firm believer; a small handful of them were completely created from the gods themselves, set to teach whatever their creator intended. Once a human has been made a herald, the title cannot be revoked. While not all heralds are fighters, they are extremely power since they wield the same abilities, albeit on a much smaller scale, as their respective god that they worship. Because of this, once a herald has died and ascended to become a full demigod, they can pose quite a threat to mortals due to their lack of restraint found in the gods. Of the many heralds that have existed, only a small number of them have gone rogue and required the intervention of all ten gods. Notable Heralds Marronash Labrok Alon * Pladean, Herald of Cruelty Pladean was a general killed in battle. After death his soul was captured by Alon who trapped him in a lower level of his plane, and forced him to compete in his tournament. Appropriately called ''Tournament of Souls'', the condemned fight in the arena, with the loser being sent to the void and having their consciousness destroyed. The winner was forced to fight again and again until they eventually would lose to the Arena Grandmaster, Kaius Rillin. Pladean, however, was able to defeat and kill Kaius, and soon thereafter sent him to the void, taking his place as the Arena Grandmaster. Instead of being content with remaining in the arena for the rest of eternity, or being ousted by another as he did with Kaius, he demanded his freedom from Alon. Pladean spoke very highly of himself and his abilities that he believed were made better during his time in the arena. Amused, Alon let him fight Sera in exchange for her position should he be able to defeat her. Sera had been a Herald of Alon for just a few decades before the fight, and was extremely arrogant regarding how she believed the fight would play out. To her surprise though, her fighting skills were far outmatched by those of Pladean. Neither combatant were very proficient in any offensive magic (despite being a Herald, Sera had more experience with conventional weapons, and preferred using those over any of her magical abilities), but once Pladean had subdued Sera enough, he was able to use spell to open a portal to the void, and pushed her in. After the fight, Alon was pleasantly surprised at the result, noting how he ironically believed Pladean stood no chance. Staying true to his word, Alon removed Pladean from the arena and made him the Herald of Cruelty for his excruciating experience fighting for an immeasurable amount of time. * Sera, Herald of Brutality Hermen * Eric, Herald of Vitality Topeth * Amri, Herald of Order Gob * Alleksi-Norm, Herald of Reason Kora Meladora Takon Aron * Aries, Herald of Knowledge The Fallen Gods Patae Interi Eken Haleen